Regeneration - Divine Comedy

Regeneration marks the seventh studio album from The Divine Comedy. Released in 2001, this album marks a slight change in direction for the Neil Hannon fronted band. The change in direction should not be frowned upon however. Yes, the large string sections that we have come to know and love in the previous Divine Comedy offerings is limited, with the band opting for a more alternative rock sound, laden with acoustic guitars, but where the strings are lacking, there is plenty to make up for it. Single "Bad Ambassador" successfully manages to combine the trademark Divine Comedy sweeping strings with this rock sound, thus making it one of the standout ...  Read the complete review

Some people may disagree with me, but I felt that The Divine Comedy lost their way a little with Fin De Siecle, their last proper album in 1998, but instead of being the beginning of their decline, this album seems to suggests that it was only a glitch in the grand scheme to make supreme music. Before I got this a couple of months ago the media was constantly going on about how DC had stripped the sound down, taking away the string sections and the grandiose sound. Upon listening to this album, I think that this is a pile of tosh because the strings remain. They’re more subtle certainly, but this is no massive change in direction that some had predicted. ...  Read the complete review

Regeneration sees the return of the Divine Comedy, this time on the Parlophone label following their big money move from indie label Setanta. The move also sees them taking a new musical direction – a more sedate, introspective approach as opposed to the “nudge, nudge, wink, wink” jolly outings of National Express and Something for the Weekend. This was completely unexpected as I expected them to lose part of who they where by going to a big label, who would stifle them a bit, but they go completely against this by releasing their least commercial album to date. The whole album has a more relaxed, gentle feel, the lyrics aren’t full of clever ...  Read the complete review

“I wanna play with the big boys,” declares the enigmatic Divine Comedy lead man Neil Hannon on the second track, Bad Ambassador, on their new album released on the 12 March. This sentiment, and the title of the album, Regeneration, can almost be considered as a statement of intent for the band. Forget the huge full piece orchestras and dirty postcard attitude and say hello to 7 slightly stern and unremarkable young men who appear on the back of the album. For this is The Divine Comedy. Whay do you think of when you think of The Divine Comedy? The fairytale of the Frog Princess? The whimsy of Something for the Weekend? The humour of Generation Sex? ...  Read the complete review

The Divine Comedy are accused of many things - being too pretentious or conversely, too light-hearted, too cheesy, too amusing, too depressing, for using too many orchestral sounds or just for being plain weird. These have all combined in the past to make The Divine Comedy an acquired taste, one for those people who know about the construction of music and its complexities. But, a lot has been spoken about this new album and how it removes many of those misgivings held by those who haven't been caught up in their previous work. However, I don't particularly care what people have to say about that because I believe this is a beautiful album, with a ...  Read the complete review